Monday, November 28, 2016

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Monday, April 07, 2014

New Chinese Cruiser: Updated Pics from Wuhan

Yesterday we announced our identification of a new mockup at Wuhan as
the first hard evidence of the design of China's new large surface
combat ship. In what has become the normal sequence for China watching
as of late, the first distant hazy photos were rapidly followed by a
string of ever closer and clearer images.

New cruiser mockup at right, existing CV mockup at left.

Clear side profile, note the bow and hangar deck are not constructed.

Extrapolated profile view (courtesy CDF member "Hongjian")

This contents of this unusual extended superstructure are hotly debated.

Closeup boasting an exceptionally large bridge deck.

CDF members surmise this aft superstructure to be a hangar and possible pedestal for an L-Band radar.

The mockup of the CV LIAONING was built at Wuhan in late 2009, and the
actual ship entered the fleet in 2012. Using this same timeline we might
expect the keel of the new cruiser to be laid in 2015 with a 2017
commission date.

Revised dimensions (courtesy CDF member "Totoro").

We will continue to watch the developments at Wuhan. Join us in the CDF
Forum to discuss this and other Chinese military topics.

Saturday, November 19, 2016

A second "barracks ship" is now launched in Guangzhou supporting the expected CV-17 carrier battle group (similar to her sister ship 88), acting as a training sea or moonlighting as a flashpoint evacuation ship

Friday, October 01, 2010

PLAN's Life Style 88

“Assertive” has officially overtaken the word “harmony” as the most
abused word in the China punditry circles. However, in light recent
incidents, the PLAN has been less assertive in establishing an overseas
naval base (Japan, on the other hand, has one in Djibouti).

To
address crew fatigue from the long term Gulf of Aden deployment (and
around Okinawa), the PLAN has launched the “Life Style 88” crew support
ship. In addition to medical facilities, this luxury ocean liner will
likely include the latest in Swiss Spa treatments for tired sailors. As
is known, one cannot be successful in naval combat with dry facial
skin!

Photo of the day: Handover of the Zubr LCAC to the PLAN

Friday, July 02, 2010

The Zubr deal has been finalized.

The last update on the Zubr deal transpired in April 2010 (here). after a prolonged negotiation, the deal seems to have finalized.

Blueprints are to be handed over to the Chinese side under the project, according to some sources

Expect a Chinese export variant coming to a trade-show soon.

(Thanks dylan for the news)

KYIV. July 1 (Interfax-AVN) - The
implementation of a contract to build high-speed hovercrafts of the
Zubr-type for China at the Morye shipyard in Feodosia will start in
September, Prime Minister of Crimea Vasyl Dzharty said.

"The construction of the first two hovercrafts will begin in September," Dzharty said at the shipyard.

Crimea and Ukraine continue looking for new orders for Feodosia shipyards, he said.

"I think orders will come from Russia and from Ukraine," he added.

Earlier
reports said that a $350 million contract for the construction of four
high-speed amphibious hovercrafts of the Zubr-type for China was
concluded by Ukrainian arms trader Ukrspetsexport in 2009.

Two
were to be built in Ukraine and two in China with Ukrainian experts'
participation. Blueprints are to be handed over to the Chinese side
under the project, according to some sources.

Ukraine, Russia and
Greece signed a trilateral contract in January 2000 for the delivery of
four similar hovercrafts to Greece - two by Ukraine and two by Russia,
worth a total of about $200 million. The contract with Ukraine was worth
about $97 million and with Russia some $101 million.

The
high-speed amphibious hovercraft of the Zubr-type is capable of carrying
150 tons of cargo, including up to three medium tanks, or 500 Marines.
The hovercraft can develop a speed of over 60 knots (about 120
kilometers per hour) on land, water and ice. It can tackle obstacles of
up to 1.5 meters high. Zubr has five 5 hp gas turbines.

Friday, November 18, 2016

Five women are training to be the People's Liberation Army's first female combat helicopter pilots, the PLA has announced.

Yun Lu, Pu Yuting, Zhou Jiao, Wang Wenjuan and Liaohuang Xiaochuan all flew fixed-wing aircraft for the PLA Air Force before they were selected for training by the PLA Army aviation unit in 2014.

The five have completed many training courses and will soon be combat-ready, according to a news release from the PLA.

The women have overcome many difficulties, such as having to forget old operational practices for fixed-wing planes, and have done exercises to build their physical strength, it said.

Pictures from the PLA show the female fliers training in a WZ-9, a military variation of the French Eurocopter Dauphin, and a WZ-10, the country's first domestically developed attack helicopter.

Among the five women, Yun has the most remarkable record. She is one of the first Chinese women capable of operating a fighter jet and has flown multiple types of fixed-wing planes, including the JL-8 trainer and J-7 fighter jet.

She trained with Yu Xu, a female member of the PLA Air Force's August 1st Air Demonstration Team, who died on Saturday during flight training and has become a national hero. Both women, together with 14 other female high school graduates from across the country, were enrolled at the PLA Air Force Aviation University in September 2005.

The PLA Air Force has not disclosed how many female aviators it has flying transport helicopters.

However, about 10 female helicopter pilots reportedly work for police forces and general aviation companies.

Western defense observers speculate that the PLA Army's aviation unit has about 1,000 helicopters, including nearly 100 WZ-10s.

In the United States, women are a significant force in the military's helicopter fleet. In 2014, around 10 percent of U.S. Army helicopter pilots were women, according to a report released by the U.S. Army that year.

There are many female aviators in the U.S. Army who have operated the world's most powerful attack helicopter, the Boeing AH-64 Apache, U.S. media have reported.

China’s first female pilot of a J-10 fighter jet died in a flying accident on Saturday, the day after China ’s air force day, the Sichuan Communist Youth League reported on social media.

Yu Xu, 30, who was born in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, was a member of the August 1st aerobatics team of the People’s Liberation Army’s air force. She was one of few female pilots who could fly domestically made fighter jets.

According to mainland media reports, Yu’s plane plunged to the ground after an unspecified accident, and she was unable to eject in time. The incident occurred in Hebei province.

[Yu Xu became a fighter pilot jet in 2009. Photo: PLA Daily]

The reports said Yu was flying with a male pilot, who was able to eject but was injured.

Yu applied to become a pilot in the air force in 2005 and, four years later, became one of China’s first 16 female pilots of fighter jets, according to Xinhua News Agency.

The aerobatics team participated in Airshow China in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, earlier this month.

The aerobatics team was founded in 1962 and named after the founding date of the PLA. It’s based at Yangcun Air Force Base near the city of Tianjin, home to the 24th fighter division.

Besides the August 1st team, China has two other aerobatic demonstration teams, Sky Wing and Red Falcon, which were both founded in 2011.

This year is the 67th anniversary of the air force, which was set up on November 11, 1949.

Thursday, November 10, 2016

While this report reads "Air defense regiment belonging to the 39th Group Army", both the PGZ07 Twin-35mm Tracked SPAA and the HQ-17 all-weather low to medium altitude, short-range surface-to-air missile system, a.k.a Chinese TOR M1, are actually organic to the 116th "Red Eight" Mech Infantry Division of the 39th Group Army.

Together with the 112th Heavy Mech Infantry Division, 38th Group Army, and the 123rd Heavy Amphibious Mechanized Infantry Division, 41st Group Army, more and more PLA divisional Air Defense Regiments are being upgraded with the new PGZ07 and HQ-17 pair.